Indians Prospect Insider

Game 1 of the 2014 World Series finally arrived on Tuesday, and it was a clunker as the Giants jumped out to a big lead on the Royals and James Shields before cruising to a 7-1 win behind the left arm of Madison Bumgarner. The IBI's Jay Frierson recaps the news and notes from the World Series and around the league on Tuesday.

Today we continue the IBI’s year-end awards with the announcement of the Comeback Player of the Year in the minors. This award goes to the player who came back from a rough 2013 season – be it due to injury or performance – and any other obstacles to put up a very good 2014 season and reestablished and/or solidified himself as a prospect for the Indians. The IBI's Tony Lastoria runs down the list of candidates and picks his winner...

Projected statistics for 2015 have been posted by Steamer Projections Blog and, while it’s difficult to predict what a team will look like six months before Opening Day, it offers Tribe fans clamoring for next year an early look at what they might expect. The IBI's Steve Garton reviews the projections and offers up his quick thoughts on them.

In the early going of the offseason winter ball action it has been the Giovanny Urshela show, and once again his show took center stage on Monday with a big four-hit night. He's doing everything in his power to make it hard for the Indians not to give him a legit shot in Cleveland early on next season, and the IBI's Tony Lastoria talks about that and more...

The World Series gets underway tonight! Who are you predicting to win it all? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on Sandy Alomar Jr. being turned down (again), the Indians 2014 draft receives praise, the Royals had the chance to add a top bullpen arm, and more.

Despite missing the playoffs the Cleveland Indians made some great strides in 2014 and have expanded on an already promising young core of players. The Indians will look to improve the roster this offseason, so the IBI's Graydon Fox decided to dive deep into the numbers from 2014 to find out where the Indians can improve knowing they have limited money to work with.

Today we continue the IBI postseason awards with the announcement of the Biggest Breakthrough in the minors. This award goes to the player who may not have been as highly touted coming into the season on prospect lists, but by the end of the season is definitely on the prospect map going into next season. The Indians had several players really breakthrough as prospects this season, and the IBI's Tony Lastoria talks about them all and picks his winner.

Giovanny Urshela had another big night in Venezuela on Sunday and is doing a great job so far of improving his stock as an asset for the Indians and improving his chances of becoming their third baseman in Cleveland at some point in 2015. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recaps the night around winter ball for the Indians and talks about Urshela's night, the debut of Yhoxian Medina, and more.

News is slow these days. Some of that is due to a big layoff before the start of the World Series on Tuesday, but a lot of it is due to the league mandate that teams do not make news during the World Series so as to not upstage the Fall Classic. But there are some news and notes from around the league, and the IBI's Jay Frierson recaps them.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end, we continue bringing you seasons in review, with today's featuring the 2014 Columbus Clippers. This week we focus on the pitchers, with Jim Piascik breaking down the myriad of major league-ready arms that pitched for the Clippers this past season as he takes you into The WAR Room.

The offseason is once again here for the Indians. After the conclusion of the World Series the Indians will embark on one of their most important offseason's in their history as they look to make a few moves to make this team a legitimate World Series threat. IBI newcomer Anthony Kaylor has his own checklist of what he things the Indians should do this offseason, and he shares it in his debut piece for the site.

While baseball awaits the start of the World Series on Tuesday, there are tons of games being played on a daily basis in various fall and winter leagues. The Indians had over a half dozen players in action on Saturday, and the IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps all the action, including the 2014-2015 winter ball debut of Tyler Naquin.

It has been well documented over the years that the Cleveland Indians have a propensity of drafting more “polished” college players in the first round of the draft, but in 2011 they decided to roll the dice with the number eight overall pick on a prep star out of Florida, shortstop Francisco Lindor. He has the potential to be a star with the Indians, but several fans have suggested that the Indians should trade him for a big bat at third base or the outfield. The IBI's Sam Camp explains why that would be a bad idea...

The Detroit Tigers were eliminated from the playoffs for the fourth straight year without a championship, as one of the clearest teams in win-now mode fell short yet again. Now, with Max Scherzer and Victor Martinez headed for free agency and the Kansas City Royals playing deep into the playoffs, there seems to be a train of thought emerging that the Tigers' window is closing. Such an event would be welcome news for Cleveland, but Jim Piascik does not think it is true. Join Jim to find out why after the jump.

There was lots of action around the Indians system on Friday as they had players participating in games in Arizona, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. More players will soon be making their winter ball debuts. The IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps another busy night Around the Farm for the Indians.

With both the Royals and Giants off on Friday as they prepare for the start of the World Series on Tuesday, there were a lot of moves around baseball to finalize some managerial and executive positions on several teams. But the big news of the day was the retirement of Brian Roberts. The IBI's Tony Lastoria shares all the news and notes from the day...

The second week of the Arizona Fall League season wraps up this weekend. Several Indians prospects are out in Arizona participating in the high exposure offseason league, and one player in particular who is looking to continue his success from the 2014 season and have a good showing is right-handed reliever Grant Sides. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recently spoke with him out in Arizona...

Today we continue with the IBI’s year-end awards with the announcement of the Biggest Disappointment in the minors. This is the one year-end award that no one wants to win and goes to the player who was a highly rated prospect coming into the season who performed poorly or suffered through an injury plagued season. The IBI's Tony Lastoria continues to hand out the postseason minor league hardware, though this is always the toughest one for him to hand out.

We have no way of knowing the future, but right now, it looks like the 2014 season may become known among Cleveland fans as the year Giovanny Urshela solidified himself as a major league option and long-term solution for the organization. The third baseman started that process during the regular season, but he has not let up on it in winter ball. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps Urshela’s night and the rest of the action from across the globe as he takes you Around the Farm.

The World Series matchup is now set! Do the Royals or Giants win it all? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Rangers managerial decision, the new Rays front office, where Nelson Cruz could be leaning, and more.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!